]]>Google purchased Softcard earlier this week, and today it posted a support page about what to expect from the mobile wallet service in the future as it shuts down. No surprises here: Android users should download Google Wallet, which is replacing Softcard. But for users of the Windows Phone Softcard app, there is no NFC payment alternative.

What about Softcard for Windows?
The Softcard for Windows Phone app will also be terminated. A specific termination date will be provided soon.

Softcard for Windows Phone, we hardly knew you. The app first launched on Microsoft mobile devices last fall for AT&T and Verizon subscribers, and allows users with NFC-equipped Windows Phones to make contactless payments at certain stores and restaurants, including McDonalds. Because Windows Phones aren’t equipped with fingerprint readers yet, users have to enter a PIN to unlock the digital wallet.

When Softcard exits the Windows Phone store, it leaves the platform without a NFC-enabled payments app. Microsoft Wallet can theoretically make NFC payments, but its acceptance has been slow, possibly due to resistance from the carriers (who were committed to Softcard.) Android devices can download Google Wallet, obviously, and Apple’s iPhones have Apple Pay. The Softcard FAQ doesn’t mention Softcard on iPhone, but the plans to enable Softcard on the iPhone using an “integrated secure SIM-based hardware solution” (an NFC-enabled iPhone sleeve) are probably on the back-burner, too.

The decision to pull the Windows Phone Softcard app might not be a snub intended to hurt Windows Phone. It’s possible that Google has simply decided that the relatively few Windows Phone users weren’t worth the extra resources to support the platform. Plus, Google Wallet could end up going cross-platform in the future. But it’s still an example of how Microsoft’s inability to gain traction with its mobile operating system is closing doors for its users, as well as for Microsoft itself in the rapidly heating-up mobile payments market.

]]>Bluetooth headsets aren’t the hottest smartphone accessory, but a new Bluetooth headset on Indiegogo, called Bluewire, packs enough features that it’s worth another look even for users who don’t need hands-free calling.

Bluewire looks like a fairly standard, albeit chunky, hands-free Bluetooth headset. But it charges wirelessly thanks to Qi charging support, it uses NFC for quick pairing with a smartphone, and it’s even got an accelerometer built-in. Plus, it can record any phone call or VoIP call that passes through it on its built-in 16GB of memory.

The ability to record phone calls — both ends of the conversation, you and the other speaker — is the real draw here. Bluewire records calls “in hardware,” and it can even work if you’re not using the Bluetooth headset in your ear. Users can do a three-way pair and use a preferred Bluetooth speaker or headset — like your car — while still having the Bluewire record your call.

“Bluewire basically takes the Bluetooth signal, splits it for sound, then processes it and compresses it to a WAV file independent of the phone,” founder Avi Gilor said.

You access your recorded calls on a Bluewire app for Android and iOS which organizes your conversations and gives you an easy app for playback. The NFC can also be handy here — with the right phone, a simple tap can automatically send the audio file of your last recorded phone call.

Of course, call recording might not be legal where you live. For instance, California is a two-party consent state, so you’ll need to get permission from everyone involved in the conversation before you record them. In New York, however, any single party can record a conversation. By default, Bluewire beeps at the beginning of a conversation it records, but the noise can be turned off through the app. However, although Bluewire can record every day conversations (voice memos) that aren’t calls, its limited to five minutes at a time so it can’t be used as a persistent bug.

But although the call recording is the banner feature for the Bluewire, there are enough other functions to keep gadget enthusiasts happy. For instance, the built-in accelerometer isn’t used for step-tracking, but it can be used to find your phone. Simply shake the Bluewire and your phone will ring. It also works the other way — a button in the Bluewire app can make the Bluewire emit noise, making the Bluewire into a lost-item finder.

“The first challenge for us was how to split the data so you can talk on Bluetooth and still record on Bluewire,” Gilor said. “Then I added the dream list, the Swiss Army features, targeted towards gadgeteers in the crowd funding area.”

The accelerometer can also be used for the Bluewire’s most quixotic feature, the ability to use it as a burglar alarm — if you’re willing to hang your Bluetooth headset on your doorknob before you go to sleep.

The Bluewire is currently on Indiegogo, but it seems like it’s already a fairly developed product, so the Indiegogo is sort of acting like a pre-order. Bluewire is expected to ship in July. Currently, early birds can grab one for $149, but Gilor says that when it eventually goes on sale in stores it will cost $270.

]]>If you’ve got a Moto X, some of its touchless voice activation features won’t work when the phone is locked with a passcode or swipe pattern. Motorola got around this problem last year by launching an NFC fob called the Skip, and its successor, the Keylink, has a few new tricks.

Like last year’s version, the Keylink will create a trusted zone when nearby your phone, which mean you can skip plugging in your handset’s password. The Keylink’s NFC unlocking powers work with any phone running Android Lollipop, using the same trusted device settings that can be used to unlock your phone when you’re in the house.

But that’s not all the Keylink can do. Since it’s a keyfob, it can be used as a remote key locator if you misplace your keys. It also works the other way around and can make your phone ring by pressing a button on the fob. You don’t need to worry about charging it: The Keylink uses a watch battery that lasts for up to a year.

Keylink’s device ringing features require the Motorola Connect app, which can be installed on Android devices without the latest update as well as iOS devices.

Motorola has played with using NFC as a second factor for device unlocking and security before, even releasing a NFC tag earlier this year that can stick to skin for up to five days. Ultimately, however, devices like the Keylink may not have a bright future: These kind of unlocking shortcuts will work just fine with a smartwatch — like Motorola’s own Moto 360, which uses Bluetooth to prove it’s a trusted device — as opposed to a standalone accessory.

The Keylink costs $24.99 and goes on sale today, although Motorola’s website currently lists it as out of stock.

]]>The dead walk among us, and they are apparently shipping silicon. Ultrawideband, a radio technology that uses unlicensed spectrum to send massive files short distances, is back in a slightly different form, hoping this time to provide location data for the internet of things. Ultrawideband or UWB, was pushed in the early aughts as a way to wirelessly dock a monitor or TV to a computer, but because of infighting in the standards-setting committee and international spectrum allocation issues, it never got very far.

A half of dozen or so startups raised venture capital to build UWB chips and most of those were sold off and the standard itself was taken over by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. But Decawave, a company based in Dublin, Ireland is now using UWB tech to offer granular, indoor location data. Decawave, which was formed in 2004 is set to ship about a million UWB radios this year and hopes to hit the 5 million mark in 2015 according to Mickael Viot, marketing manager at Decawave.

He claims that UWB can offer location data that is accurate to within 10 centimeters to about 30 centimeters, which makes sense given that the radios were originally designed to transmit a lot of data over a very short distance. The Decawave UWB tech can transmit data over longer distances, but the efficiency per bit is not as great. Customers in the industrial world and automotive are already using the technology, and a smart home customer is also looking at it to provide detailed tracking information for lost items via a stick-on tag.

Using UWB can offer higher data rates than Bluetooth Low Energy, and Viot claims that the modifications to the silicon that Decawave offers make for a chip that is still power-efficient. Right now, the form factor for the silicon is a bit large, but the next generation coming in 2015 will shrink the silicon and packaging to a more consumer-friendly size.

And like other radio technologies that haven’t yet found a home in handsets, UWB radios will need a transceiver somewhere within a set range to work. For example, in a home setting a 4,000 square foot home might require four transceivers to track location. Another example, Decawave offers — using the technology for personal security to unlock your tablets, phones and laptops – would require a radio built into each of those items. Given the perceived similarities with NFC, which Apple just adopted for the iPhone, this seems far-fetched.

And that lack of an establish ecosystem will be the challenge for Decawave and any other entities hoping to use UWB for location. Those entities include chip startup BeSpoon and French technology research organization CEA-Leti. Specialized radios need both a transceiver and receiver built into the ecosystem, which can be done if you are selling an industrial solution that will be implemented by IT departments or consultants, but it’s a tougher sell in the consumer market where people don’t want to stick additional boxes around their homes. They might for specific use cases, like tracking their dog, but the best bet for any radio silicon vendor is going to be getting your tech embedded in established hubs or smartphones.

Given Bluetooth’s dominance on the smartphone and the ability to use Wi-Fi to stream larger files, I’m not sure UWB will have much better luck this time around. I could be wrong — after all, the NFL just signed a deal to track football players using RFID, another radio tech that has similar limitations on the ecosystem front — but it’s going to be a tough slog for Decawave and others pushing UWB for the internet of things.

]]>Don’t expect a ton of third-party apps to take advantage of the new NFC chip included in the iPhone 6, at least at the beginning. Apple has confirmed to Cult of Mac and The Verge that NFC capabilities are restricted to Apple Pay — which means you might not be be automating your life with NFC tags or paying for your subway ride with your iPhone anytime soon.

In fact, Apple is playing down NFC as a feature in its newest iPhones, preferring to emphasize Apple Pay, its new payment solution that uses NFC. If you take a look at Apple’s specs page for the iPhone 6, NFC is relegated to the “cellular and wireless” section, even below the letter jumbles that represent which wireless networks the iPhone works on. It’s safe to say you won’t be seeing an iPhone ad that touts the NFC wireless standard as a feature.

But that’s not to say that NFC will be locked down forever. If Apple were to open up the ability to tinker with the chip to third-party developers, there could be some interesting applications that pop up for the new hardware. People tinkering with NFC-equipped Android devices have come up with some very cool features — especially with automation app Tasker — and it would be silly to exclude NFC from one of Apple’s biggest strengths: Its large and creative developer community.

I suspect third-party apps for the NFC chip are merely a matter of time. Just look at how Apple handled Touch ID, which debuted last year on the iPhone 5S. Touch ID was originally restricted to unlocking the phone and other Apple functions. But with iOS 8, which will be pushed to users this Wednesday, Apple has opened up Touch ID to third-party developers, and apps like Paypal and 1Password will be taking advantage of the fingerprint scanner. So if you’re hoping for NFC-enabled apps on the iPhone 6, maybe you just need to wait for next year.

VivaLnk says its e-tattoos are equipped with adhesive that “lasts for five days” and are made to stay on through “showering, swimming, and vigorous activities,” like sports, or exploring new avenues of human-machine interaction.

One downside? There’s currently only one design, a shiny vortex-looking spiral, so you can’t use these patches to express your individuality. But a temporary tattoo that lets your body control machines is cooler than any skull or heart you can slap on your skin.

]]>Disputing the notion that any publicity is good publicity, Isis Mobile Communications, the joint venture behind the Isis Wallet mobile payments system, will be changing its branding, according to CEO Michael Abbott.

It’s hard to question the move given that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (aka ISIS) is cutting a bloody swath through those two countries and the association with that moniker doesn’t engender cozy feelings about a brand. The company, launched two years ago by AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon offers a mobile payment system that runs on NFC-equipped Android and iOS devices and competes with Google Wallet.

Per Abbott’s blog post:

However coincidental, we have no interest in sharing a name with a group whose name has become synonymous with violence and our hearts go out to those who are suffering. As a company, we have made the decision to rebrand.

]]>Payleven, which began life as Rocket Internet’s Square clone for Europe, will later this year bring out a mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) card reader that accepts contactless payments using near-field communication (NFC) technology.

The rollout of NFC-based contactless payment facilities among retailers has been patchy, apart from where banks are enthusiastically pushing them, such as in the U.K. and Poland. Certainly for very small businesses – the kind that will use cheap mPOS readers from the likes of Payleven, Square or iZettle to accept card payments for the first time – NFC has not factored thus far.

Payleven was the first company of its kind to release a chip and PIN card reader in Europe, charging around €79 ($110) for it. That device connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth, and the new version, slated for release in the second half of this year at a price of around €100, will do the same.

According to Payleven founder Konstantin Wolff:

“NFC definitely has the potential to become the market standard for contactless payments. However, until now the hurdle for SMEs has been the huge cost associated with it. By launching our new device we will be offering a disruptive solution that will help our customers to keep up with cutting edge technology, making their business even more efficient with NFC.”

A Payleven spokesman told me the device would support all large NFC programs, such as Visa’s payWave and Mastercard’s PayPass. “The integration of various wallets is likely of course,” he added.

Visa was trumpeting the rise of contactless transactions in Europe a few days ago, though most of this activity is in Poland and the U.K. An NFC-capable card reader won’t be hugely useful where people don’t have NFC-capable cards (or until NFC-based mobile payments finally take off, if ever), but Payleven won’t be charging much of a premium over its normal chip-and-PIN readers, so the main hit the small vendor will be taking will really be in terms of having a slightly bulkier terminal.

]]>This is fun: Netflix just posted a few videos from its recent company hack day on its tech blog, showing what Netflix developers come up with if you give them a card blanche. Some of the hacks include a Fitbit integration that would pause a TV show as soon as you fall asleep and NFC / iBeacon to let you share content across devices.

That’s how long it takes me to drive home from our New York City offices. I made that very trip yesterday, leaving just before the Friday afternoon rush hour on a weekend already challenged by Super Bowl traffic in the area.

Three hours.

That’s also how long it took for my credit card data to be stolen and used in four unique transactions in Quebec, Canada while I was driving home to Pennsylvania. The normally quiet drive was interrupted by several emails and calls from American Express to warn me of fraudulent activity for four transactions ranging from $18 to $45.

The art and hassle of the scam

This particular credit card is one I don’t even use often. It’s an AMEX Business account that I opened years ago when I was an independent blogger. I only use it now for my Gigaom activities, simply because it’s easier to separate work expenses from personal ones. Yet, for the second time in as many business trips to New York City, the card information was stolen and purchases were made. The last time, just a few months ago, created nearly $1,500 worth of fraudulent transactions.

Thanks to diligence on the part of AMEX, I don’t have to pay for any of these transactions. The company didn’t even approve the charges from yesterday. But I had to spend time on the phone reviewing all the transactions with the credit card company and of course, my current card is now invalid. Another card with new numbers is on the way.

What a waste of time, effort and money for all involved.

For an innovative country, we’re behind the times

So why haven’t we figured this out yet? We have a number of mobile payment initiatives and products available to us in the U.S. but we’re still dealing with an outdated magnetic stripe system that’s easy to hack for data. That’s partly why this country accounts for a disproportionately high amount of overall credit card fraud: Although we process only 24 percent of global payment volume, we account for 47 percent of the overall global fraud according to BusinessWeek.

Market politics is one big challenge. For example, I had high hopes for Google Wallet and NFC payments a few years ago but they were soon dashed.

Coin is a new twist on the old model. Instead of carrying individual credit cards, you have one card with magnetic stripe. Using a mobile app, the stripe can be instantly programmed with your card account numbers to become a universal credit card. I thought about spending $50 on Coin but the truth is: While Coin is more convenient, it doesn’t solve any fraud problems. The card can still be “skimmed” for its data through the stripe.

The market is ready for disruption and that’s where Apple thrives

I do have some hope though: Apple is reportedly looking at expanding into mobile payments in a way that would eliminate the magnetic stripe approach. The company already has hundreds of millions of credit card account information. And with the new iPhone 5s, it has a strong user identification process in the Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted this on the company’s recent investor call, saying “The mobile payments area in general is one we’ve been intrigued with. It was one of the thoughts behind Touch ID.”

Personally, I prefer solutions that are device and platform agnostic so I won’t suggest that Apple will save the mobile payment industry from fraud alone. The idea of personal authentication in place of a physical magnetic strip, however, is the best overall solution I’ve heard of yet. Google Wallet comes close by requiring an NFC-enabled phone to be present, along with the added protection of a PIN for transactions. Fingerprint data stored in a secure storage area is better though.

If Apple does provide a solution for this issue, I’ll welcome it with open arms. Yes, it means providing trust in Apple for all of that credit card data but if you’re an iTunes user, don’t you already do that today? Of course, the recent Target data breach affecting up to 70 million customers may give some pause but my faith in a tech company is generally greater than that of a retailer.

Again, I’d like to see a widespread solution that doesn’t rely on a single company, platform or device line. But I’ll take what Apple has to offer if it eliminates or at least greatly reduces payment fraud.